From prehistoric times to the present there have been many mass migrations of people throughout the world (see migration of people). In some few isolated locations, however, certain tribal or ethnic groups have lived without migrating for many thousands of years. Such people are called aborigines, from the Latin phrase ab origine, meaning “from the beginning.” Because aboriginal peoples generally live in areas remote from other cultures, their existence became known to the rest of the world only when outsiders intruded upon their territories. Some anthropologists in the 20th century questioned whether aborigines had always lived in the locations where they were found in modern times. It is possible that some aborigines did migrate, but in a period so remote in time that there is no record of their migration. In the case of the aboriginal peoples of the Americas, for instance, it is generally accepted that their ancestors came to the Western Hemisphere by way of the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska at least 20,000 years ago (see Indians, American). By the 20th century there were few regions of the world where outsiders had not encroached upon aboriginal cultures. So-called Stone Age cultures still exist in the rain forests of South America and on the island of New Guinea. Some groups of Negritos, a Pygmy people of Malaysia, the Philippines, and the Andaman Islands of India, have succeeded in preserving much of their traditional culture. On Hokkaido, the large northern island of Japan, live a people called the Ainu, who were originally distinct physically from the surrounding Asian population. Over the centuries the processes of cultural assimilation and intermarriage have almost eliminated their distinctive characteristics. They now resemble the Japanese in appearance and use the Japanese language. By virtue of their name, the Australian Aboriginals—or Aborigines, as they are also called—constitute probably the best known of aboriginal societies. At the time of the first European settlement in the late 18th century, the Aboriginals occupied all of Australia and the island of Tasmania. The estimate of Aboriginal population at that time was at least 300,000, comprising more than 500 tribes. Most anthropologists and archaeologists believe that the Aboriginals migrated to Australia and Tasmania about 40,000 years ago. They probably originated in mainland Southeast Asia and may have reached Australia by way of a now-submerged land shelf that connected the continent with New Guinea. Since the arrival of European settlers in Australia, the traditional Aboriginal way of life has been adversely affected (see Australia, “Aborigines”). In 2001 there were roughly 410,000 Aboriginals living in Australia. |